Turkish Jets to Join Mosul Operation: PM

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday his country’s air force jets joined in the air operation backing Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga to retake Iraq’s second city of Mosul from ISIL Takfiris.

“Our air forces took part in the coalition forces’ air operations in Mosul,” Yildirim told his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group in Ankara.

The long-awaited offensive began Monday. Yildirim said Turkey was “closely-watching” what was happening but did not give details on the nature of the Turkish air support.

Mosul was captured by ISIL terrorists in June 2014. But ahead of the offensive, Turkey and Iraq were entangled in a war of words over Turkey’s military intervention in northern Iraq.

Yildirim repeated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments from Monday that Turkey would be involved in the operation and will be “at the table”.

Earlier this month, Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi traded barbs over Turkey’s presence in Bashiqa in northern Iraq, where according to Erdogan nearly 700 Turkish soldiers are based.

Baghdad insists that the Turkish force is an “occupying force”, but Ankara says it is providing training for fighters whom the Turkish government says will assist Peshmerga forces retake Mosul.